Photo: Bitty burrowing owl peeks out from below

Our photo of the day features one of the smallest of North American owls.

Behold the burrowing owl, one of North America’s smallest and most unusual owls. Unlike its cousins, Athene cunicularia does not take to the trees and hunt from the air; rather, the burrowing owl lives in dens dug out from the ground by other creatures. And even stranger, for a bird of prey at least, is that it hunts on the ground … during the day. They are quirky and gorgeous, and we love this photo by Sam McMillan, offering a sweet glimpse of this curious creature.

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